1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a food processing method and system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for minimizing microbial growth while an animal is processed into food. In addition, the present invention relates to controlling temperature and reducing the need for fresh water during food processing.
2. Description of Related Art
The health conscious public demands food that is safe, sanitary, and free of microorganisms and chemicals. In addition, government health and safety agencies regulate the quality of food. Although the food industry attempts to meet the demands of both the public and the government, large scale food preparing operations inevitably provide environments favorable for the growth of harmful bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms.
Large facilities for processing live animals into food have been in use for a number of years. Many of these facilities, however, lack adequate equipment and controls to reduce the growth of potentially harmful microorganisms. Lack of sufficient cooling, atmosphere control, and cleansing are some of the primary reasons microbes thrive during food processing.
In most conventional food processing facilities, an animal carcass is cooled only after the carcass is processed to remove viscera and cut into portions. (As used herein, the term xe2x80x9ccarcassxe2x80x9d generally means a whole animal body or a portion of the animal body) Immediately after an animal is slaughtered, however, the resulting carcass is at a temperature that is approximately the same as the body temperature of the animal. This warm temperature of the carcass promotes microbial growth up until the time when the carcass is finally cooled. Because a great amount of time normally passes from when an animal is slaughtered to when the processed carcass is cooled, significant growth of microbes can occur.
The atmosphere within a food processing facility also affects microbial growth during food processing. Many different types of microorganisms thrive on gases such as oxygen, but little or no attempt is made to control the relative amounts of these gases during food processing. In addition, many of the existing food processing facilities do not use gases, such as ozone, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and argon, which can control microbial growth without contaminating the resulting food.
Poor cleaning of both animals and processing machines is yet another reason for microbial contamination. Typically, animals, such as chickens, are shipped to a food processing facility and slaughtered before they have been washed. The filth, fecal matter, and dirt carried by these animals often spread throughout an entire food processing facility, resulting in contaminated food.
As machines process one animal carcass after another, they often cross contaminate carcasses and assist in spreading microbes. Fresh water or water in combination with chemicals is used to wash the machines, but the water alone is ineffective for killing microbes, and the chemicals added to water often pollute the water to a level requiring special disposal procedures. Because most conventional food processing facilities use a significant amount of fresh water, they cannot be located in areas lacking a large source of fresh water.
In light of the foregoing, there is a need in the art for a method and system for processing food to reduce microbial growth and to eliminate the need for excessive amounts of fresh water.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a method and system for processing a live animals into food so that microbial growth is minimized.
In addition, the invention is directed to a method and system for animal processing without the need for an excessive amount of fresh water.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the invention includes a food processing method comprising the steps of slaughtering an animal to produce a carcass, conveying the carcass to a processing area, processing the carcass in the processing area to convert the carcass into food, and controlling, during the processing step, temperature of the carcass with at least one of a group consisting of gas and a mixture of water and ozone.
In one aspect of the invention, the gas includes ozone and is sprayed on the carcass to cool the carcass cryogenically.
In another aspect, the mixture of ozone and water is sprayed on the carcass to cool the carcass.
In another aspect, the sprayed water is collected, purified, and reused during processing.
In another aspect, temperature is sensed in the processing area and cold gas is flowed into atmosphere of the processing area when the sensed temperature is above a predetermined amount.
In another aspect, cold gas passes through a passage arranged in a wall of the processing area so that the cold gas flows through the passage to remove heat from the processing area through the wall.
In still another aspect, food is frozen in a freezer by spraying the food with a cryogenic gas, the gas sprayed in the freezer is collected, and the carcass is cooled during the processing step with the collected gas.
In an additional aspect, the amount of a predetermined gas is sensed and the predetermined gas is added into the processing area based on the sensed amount.
Additionally, the present invention includes a system comprising walls forming a partially enclosed room having an entrance and exit, a conveyor for conveying an animal carcass from the entrance to processing equipment positioned in the room, gas supply lines communicating with the room, the gas supply lines being coupled to gas sources, at least one sensor for sensing at least one of the amount of a predetermined types of gases in the room and the temperature in the room, and a controller for regulating flow of gas in the supply lines according to at least one of the sensed amount and the temperature so that microbial growth in the room is reduced.
In another aspect, the animal carcass is sprayed, while it is being processed, with a mixture of ozone and water to reduce microbial growth on the carcass.
In yet another aspect, microbes are reduced during animal slaughter by introducing into the slaughter area a mixture of gases including ozone and at least one of the group consisting of nitrogen, argon, and carbon dioxide so that the mixture of gases kills the animal and reduces the amount of microbes on the animal.
In still another aspect, gas is sprayed within a cavity of the carcass to reduce microbial growth and cool the carcass.
Further, the invention includes a conduit sized for insertion into an animal carcass, first and second sprayers for coupling to a source of a mixture of ozone gas and water, and a shield for shielding the carcass from contact with substances sprayed off of the conduit.
In an additional aspect, ultrasonic oscillations are emitted in a chilled bath of ozone and water to loosen microbes from an exterior surface of the animal carcass.
In another aspect, an exterior surface of an animal carcass is heated to open pores and trisodium phosphate is sprayed on the carcass while the pores are open.
In still another aspect, feathers are removed from the exterior of a fowl carcass and the carcass is sprayed with at least one of an ozone and water mixture and trisodium phosphate.
In a further aspect, a live animal is washed with a mixture of ozone and water.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.